The Mark of the Outsider
by WarmasterCain55
Summary: Legends tells of a being that walks in the void, neither good nor evil, but rather a being that reveals himself to 'interesting' people and watch and see what choices they make and the path they follow. They call him...the Outsider.
1. Chapter 1

So here we go with a new story after a LONG, LONG time of not writing. I am a big fan on RWBY and lately I've been playing Dishonored again and I was struck with the sudden idea of a crossover between them so here we are. I will admit I am a little rusty when it comes to writing but I see that rust clearing up so here you go with chapter 1 of Mark of the Outsider and hope you enjoy it. I do not expect this to be a long story but who knows. 

**The Mark of the Outsider**

**Chapter 1**

Sweat glistened off of Blake's hand as she held Gambol Shroud tightly in her grip, the mark of the Outsider felt like it was going to burn through her skin but she paid it no mind as right now. Right now, all of her rage, her hatred against humanity was directed to one person and one person only, the same person who was currently on the ground below her with the very sharp edge of Gambol Shroud against her neck.

Weiss Schnee.

And yet, even as Blake held her victim down, a part of her realized that the girl didn't once whimper, beg, or even insult her with that infamous sharp tongue of hers; instead the pale girl settled on staring on her with those eyes, eyes that dared her to finish it, to take her life. However, even as golden eyes stared into light blue eyes of her teammate, her mind took her back to where this first started, back to where she thought her and Weiss were friends, back to before when she met...him.

The Outsider.

OoOoOoOoO

"Or maybe we were just tired of being pushed around."

That simple sentence did more damage than any weapon could ever do. With that sentence, Blake had exposed herself as not only a faunus but a former member of the White Fang, a organization that took a very dark turn in recent years. She had stood there, watched as Weiss's features turned into horror, even as she stammered, trying to desperately save herself, to take back what she said but she knew, she knew she never could.

So she ran.

She ran out of the room, past the horror stricken Weiss, past the confused leader of team RWBY, screwing her eyes shut as she tried to forget the sound of her teammate running after her, calling her name. The cat faunus ran through the hallways, tears leaking through her eyelids as she ran, knowing that her life her was over.

She opened her eyes and found herself headed for a dead end with a split headed left or right. Her ears still caught the sound of the familiar sound of Yang's bootsteps as she chased after her but she would never catch her, her speed would never allow it. Her mind had decided to take her left as she knew it would take her on a path out of Beacon and to the courtyard. However, as she turned the corner, as her eyes caught sight of both Jaune and Pyrrha headed _toward_ her and Blake, decided she didn't want to deal with them, adjusted her path to take her right, down a path that would take her out to the back of Beacon, toward the forest.

She eventually emerged from the school and ran out into the protected area of the forest for about a mile before she finally stopped, screwing her eyes shut, willing the tears to stop even as she screamed to the heavens, ripping off her bow in the process. The cry was not a cry of anger, but a cry of regret and sorrow. She had just exposed herself as a former member of the White Fang and a faunus to boot! She had thought, really thought that she could live as one of them, to escape her past life and move on.

"People rarely escape from their past, especially one with a past such as yours."

Blake's eyes snapped open at the sudden voice, her hand instantly going toward the hilt of Gambol Shroud but froze upon the sight her eyes laid upon. Otherworldly was the best way to describe it, with ruined structures floating around in the air, floating around the foggy blue 'sky'. Her sorrow temporary forgotten, she looked around, finding still forms of Grimm floating around and lastly, the looming structure of Beacon behind her.

"Hello Blake." Hearing the voice again, this time behind her, she spun back around, her hand going back to the hilt but she froze when she grabbed at nothing at air. She looked up just in time to see a figure materialize in front of her, the sight of a man appearing before her, arms cross and a slight smirk on his lips but what most garnered her attention was the fact that he was _floating_ a few inches off the ground. "Your life has taken a turn has it not?"

"I…wha…"

"You came to Beacon because you intended to escape your past as a former member of the White Fang but now your past has caught up with you as you revealed your past to the daughter of the man who runs the most hated company by all faunus and you did it in anger."

"It wasn't my fault! If she wasn't…"

"But whose fault is it really mmm?" He countered, the smirk growing a bit bigger. "You chose to hide that fact from her, from all of RWBY, even your own partner." Her mouth opened but stopped and closed it again. He was right. Yang was her partner and had proved herself to be a friend of the faunus by her actions in protecting Velvet from bullies like Cardin so why had she not revealed herself, if not just to her? The answer, she knew instantly, was her sister's partner…Weiss Schnee. "What will you do now I wonder? Will you run or will you choose to confront her?"

There was a burning sensation on her left hand and she cried out in pain as she grabbed it, her eyes seeing some kind of symbol appear on the outside of her hand. Once the burning subsided however, she felt something different within her, something new. "This is my mark," The strange man began again. "Take this power and use it however you will." She was about to ask what he was talking about when the knowledge suddenly made itself apparent. The power to teleport short distances and he gave it to her.

"Why?"

"Why indeed."

A moment passed before Blake realized he wasn't going to answer. "Who are you?"

"I am known by many names but they call me the Outsider. Take care Blake. I hope you will entertain me." Said cat faunus only had time to sneer at him before a wave of dizziness hit her. She grabbed her head and closed her eyes as she tried to orientate herself, but she found herself losing that battle as she collapsed to the ground.

OoOoOoO

Blake woke to find herself hearing voices, not voices in her head, no…this voice she was VERY familiar with. A soft groan left her lips as she opened her eyes, the sight of the white ceiling of Beacon's medical ward greeting her sight. As she woke, her body shifted, now feeling the familiar sensation of being in a bed and the sensation of a soft breeze flowing over her and…her eyes shot up as her hands flew toward her head. Her eyes widen when she felt her cat ears exposed out in the open, realizing that she was exposed but yet, as she lowered her hands and saw the mark etched on her left hand, she remembered she was exposed a long time ago.

Suddenly her attention was brought back to her surroundings when she heard Yang give a angry shout, her shadow moving across the curtain before a hand pull them aside, her sensitive hearing catching '…cking Cardin, I'll show him who's the bitch arou…Blake? You're up!"

"Yes Yang, I'm up. What happened? Why am I in the medical ward?"

"Well…" She chuckled nervously at that, a finger scratching her cheek. "After you…ehm, ran off, I followed and when I caught up to you, you were collapsed near the border of the forest with monkey boy over there."

"HEY! I told you I didn't do anything to her!"

"Shut it!" Blake turned, quirking her eyebrows when she saw the same monkey faunus on the dock looking like he was beaten to an inch of his life, recognizing the injuries coming from Ember Celia, and handcuffed to the bed. "Once security confirms, your ass is mine!"

"Yang…" She couldn't help but smile once Yang's infamous temper quickly switched out by her smile. She wouldn't admit this to anybody else but she loved that smile as it made her feel safe. "I'm alright, I just…the day probably just caught up to me."

It was then that her smile dropped and her lilac eyes shifted to her hands and her own eyes followed, settling on the mark. "Then how do you explain your hand Blakey? That wasn't there before."

"I…"

"BLAAAAAAAAAAKE!" Whether it was fate or this Outsider that she meant, she was saved from the question she really didn't want to answer by the sound of her leader's voice loudly filling the room a couple seconds before the curtain was shoved away and Ruby came, literally, flying in and landing on Blake's bed, the girl giving and 'oof' as the redhead wrapped her arms around her and squeezed the hardest she could which, considering she uses a heavy scythe on a regular basis, is considerable. "We were so worried about yoooooou!" Ruby's grip tightened again but despite that, she couldn't help but smile at her leader's antics, bringing her arms around and returned the hug. However, the feeling didn't last long as she looked around, noticing the lack of a certain team member.

Yang, noticing her gaze, quickly cleared her throat. "Weiss…said she had some…things to think about shortly after I found you."

"Probably went to Ozpin's office to remove herself from the team."

The dark tone in Blake's voice was not missed by the sisters, the youngest of which slowly let go, sitting up and looking at her with those sad eyes. "Blake, I'm sure that's not…"

"Not what Ruby? You know precisely as I do that she hates faunus." This time her eyes narrowed as she pointed to her own cat ears, which twitched. "She may not have said it directly but I've been lied to enough to know what people really mean."

"Look Blake," Golden eyes shifted to Yang. "Just because Snow Angel has a beef with the White Fang doesn't mean that she has a beef with you. I mean granted, you were part of them…" The last part came as a whisper, which Blake was at least thankful the blonde had the sense to do, "But that doesn't mean that she has a problem with you. You've been part of our team for months now and you get along with her."

"And how do you think she'll get along with me now _partner_?" A growl left her lips as she gently pushed Ruby off, keeping her eyes locked with the fiery blonde, standing up and stood in defiance to Yang who didn't even move an inch. "Do you think she'll trust me now?"

"I do. I trust you with my life."

There was a tense moment where they just stood there, eyes locked with each other trying to get the other to submit. Ruby looked back and forth between them, trying to figure out a way to get them to get along again when finally Blake spoke. "You made a bad mistake." In one swift motion, she swiped her weapons off the table, slung them on her back, and took several steps back, but before Yang or Ruby could do anything, Blake lifted her left hand and clenched it, the mark on her hand glowed before she disappeared leaving the sisters confused and sad for their teammate and friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Mark of the Outsider**

**Chapter 2**

OoOoOoO

"THIS IS ALL WEISS'S FAULT!"

With a loud, anger-fueled yell, Yang slammed her fist on the poor and helpless punching bag with enough force to break the chain holding it and sent it flying across the gym where her, Ruby, and the members of team JNPR winced at the resulting crash. She snarled at the dying bag before she turned, grabbed another, hung it up and started taking her anger out on it.

Ruby hated it when her sister was angry. Not only did her semblance made it hard to even get near her due to the flames, Yang had expressly forbidden her from even trying unless absolutely necessary to ensure she didn't get accidently hurt so that meant she couldn't comfort her sister by physical contact that she was used to. Weiss was still MIA and Blake was nowhere to be found within the school grounds. She was at least thankful the gym was open 24/7 as Yang needed some time to let out her rage.

However, as another punching bag went flying, this time in flames, Ruby realized they might be here for a while.

"Yang, I'm sure Weiss and Blake just need some time to think. I mean, after all, it was a pretty big thing right?

That however seemed to be the wrong thing to say as this punching bag went flying once again, lasting for far less than the others, but this time, it seemed that Yang finally had enough to where her flames died down and she collapsed to the floor, burying her head in her hands, slight sobs being heard from her. The redheaded leader, sensing it was safe, walked up to her sister and joined her on the ground, wrapping her sister's waist and let her lean against her. "Why didn't she tell me Ruby? I would've accepted it, I mean, it's not like I hate the Faunus."

"It's not you Yang." This time Pyrrha spoke up, drawing the sister's attention to her as she walked up and took a spot on the floor in front of them, a soft smile on her face as she tried to console her friend. "You have to understand. Faunus are hated by a good number of the population right?"

"I knew that."

"How do you think she was treated in the past, as a child? If she hid this, hid the fact that she joined the White Fang, she probably wanted to protect herself from that kind of abuse. It's understandable that she would want to hide it."

"But she…" Try as she might, the blonde brawler couldn't disagree that Blake didn't trust them enough to tell them, or even her, her own _partner_ that she was a Faunus. Fear can do a lot of things to people and Blake, as strong as she was, was no exception. Her fists clenched together as her memories took her back over the past months. She knew that Blake was a bit of an anti-social but she thought she was doing well in getting her to open up more.

But…

Hidden by the wild mane of her hair, Yang's red eyes narrowed as a fierce determination set itself in her mind. "If that kitten thinks she's going to leave before she talks to us, to me, then she has another thing coming!"

"That's precisely what I've been waiting to hear."

The blonde had been around for long enough to instantly recognize the voice. Looking up and behind her, red eyes laid themselves upon the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, standing behind them with her arms crossed and a frown, while hard, did not carry any harshness toward them. "And why the fuck would you care?" The white haired fencer did not answer at first, instead opted to closed the distance between her and the sisters, ended up looking up at her teammate, matching her death glare with her own glare. "You're a Schnee." She continued, the temperature around the two of them starting to rise. "You had said yourself that the White Fang is at war with your family. Why would you care about worthless tras…"

_SLAP!_

The room with deathly silent at what just happened, Ruby holding her mouth in shock and JNPR freezing in place, the red handprint showing very visibly on the shocked blonde's cheek, her head snapped at the side due to the physical contact. "Don't…you dare say that!" Yang slowly turned back, her hand still holding her stinging cheek. No one, not even her own father, had ever slapped her, mostly in fear of her semblance so this was a new experience for her, even facing the rage of the Heiress. "You…how long have we been together? 7…8 months? And in this time we have fought together, bled together, laughed together and god help me, slept together.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ruby couldn't help but snigger at the memory of the time where they, along with several other teams, to sleep together with their partners to deal with modesty and shyness. The idea it would help them deal with any opponents who played dirty in combat. She straightened up, however, when Weiss shot her a look, before turning back to the still shocked blonde. "Did you honestly think, that after all this time, I wouldn't feel anything about the three of you? I mean, you three have saved my neck a few times."

"You made your opinion about the Faunus well known Weiss." Yang finally spoke, removing her head from her cheek, crossing her arms below her ample chest. "Even with Velvet, the most sweetest, most innocent girl I know, you recoil away from her like she was going to burn you."

"She does have a point Weiss." Now Ruby spoke up, making her way to her sister's side, not faltering under the surprised glare of her partner. "While lately it's been better, there are still moments when you…" She trailed off, either not knowing how to finish it or unwilling to finish it, she didn't know.

To her surprise, the girl didn't counter her statement. "I…know and I was wrong. My father has been doing the exact same thing and look at where we are now, at war with the White Fang." A heavy sigh left the pale girl's lips as she let her body relax. "I don't want that, I don't want to be constantly looking over my shoulder."

"Weiss…"

"Look Ruby, Yang, I know I can be…difficult but these past few hours have given me time to think and you know what I realized?" Everybody held their breath, praying that Weiss didn't screw this up. "I realized that I want to change things. I want to make things better. Blake...she..." The sisters perked up when Weiss trailed off, struggling to say whatever she was trying to say. "Blake is my friend." Now they understood. For a person like Weiss to call a Faunus a friend had to be one of the most hardest decisions she had to make. "She is my friend." She repeated, this time her voice more sure of herself, her eyes moving up to match the gazes of the sisters. "And I will be damned if I didn't find her and MAKE her understand that I don't care about her past association. Her life is here, with us!"

There was a moment where nobody spoke or moved for a couple minutes, the three girls studying each other, sizing each other up. The first move, however, lied with Yang by the moving of her facial muscles turning into a big grin.

Weiss, who had been on the receiving end of Yang's infamous bear hugs, knew what was coming. "Yang…" She tried to warn, taking a step back but the move was futile as yang quickly swept her up in her arms and spun her around, laughing all the while. "Let me go you damn brute!"

"I knew you had a heart Weiss! You call her friend!"

"Ruby! Help me!"

"Sorry Weiss, you know sis likes hugs." The leader responded, a big smile on her face, giggling at what her partner was going through, happy that Weiss actually considered Blake a friend, despite her faunus heritage, and that her sister has forgiven the heiress, at least for now. She just hoped when they found Blake, she would be willing to listen to them. She saw the look on Blake's face before she disappeared and it was a look that she had seen before, back when she and Weiss didn't exactly get along with each other. She perked up when Yang finally put her teammate down, still sporting that grin that seemed to be stuck on her face. Clearing her throat a bit, she perked up and plastered a similar grin on her face. "Now that we are all in agreement, let's go find our teammate!" She punctuated this with a fist in the air and Yang, the loveable sister that she is, quickly followed suit. Yang, upon seeing Weiss's arms still cross, elbowed her. The girl huffed but raised her hand as well which caused Ruby to beam at the action. "Alright then! Our search for our missing teammate beings NO…"

"Ahem…"

Ruby froze mid-speech, her eyes widening in horror upon recognizing the female voice. Slowly, her and everybody else in the room, eyes went to the side to see Glynda Goodwitch, the assistant headmaster to the school, with her arms crossed and an amused expression on her face. "Uh heh he…you wouldn't happen to be here for an early morning workout?"

"Miss Rose…" Her voice was like a crack of a whip, sharp and direct even as she leveled a hard glare at her for a second before it softened, her body relaxing from the tense posture from a moment ago. "While I appreciate your desire to find Miss Belladonna, need I remind you that the curfew is in place for a reason?" She paused for a minute, letting her eyes examine the individuals in the room. "Not only that, trying to find an individual such as her, in the dark, where she is most comfortable would reduce your chances of finding her will it not?" She chuckled at the sudden look of realization on her face, even as Weiss face palmed at that. She chuckled again as she turned around. "Dawn is in a few hours Miss Rose. I suggest you get some sleep and start in the morning."

She didn't need to turn around to imagine the shock followed by glee on Ruby's face when she said that. She would never admit this to anybody but this team had a lot of potential and she would love to see them have the chance to blossom into the warriors they could be.

OoOoOoO

The office of the headmaster was a large, two story office that, among other things, contained an extensive collection of private texts that was obtained over the course of the various headmasters since the school's inception and it was here that the current headmaster found himself perusing. His trademark coffee mug was absent from his hands as his eyes scanned the book spines but his mind was filled with worrying thoughts about his student.

When security had contacted him and told him that Yang Xiao Long had beaten a monkey faunus half to death and that her partner was unconscious near the air docks, he, of course, decided to find out what was going on in person. Once he had arrived, however, he had found that security had to restrain Yang to keep her from murdering the poor monkey faunus. However, once he had stepped in front of the blonde brawler, she instantly calmed down for fear of reprisal.

It was then that he found out Yang had found her partner unconscious near the docks with the faunus hovering over her. She had automatically assumed that he was the cause for her partner's current state and proceeded to assault him. It was then that the faunus interjected with his own POV, even while he was being treated by the medical staff, stating that he had come across her like that and was trying to help her. Yang, of course, didn't believe that and made her opinions quite known, unleashing a maelstrom of profanities and promises of what she would do to him once she was free. Ozpin sent the blonde a look and she shut up instantly which earned a snicker from the faunus which infuriated Yang even more.

His attention was diverted by the arrival of both Glynda and the doctor who promptly informed that physically, Blake was fine and there was no reason for her current state. However, it was at that time, that things went in an unexpected direction. The doctor had turned his attention to Blake's left hand and the addition of her new tattoo. Upon seeing the mark, he had recognized it but couldn't recall where and that is where he now found himself, staring at an old legend book set here by his predecessor entitled 'Tales of the Outsider'. He had heard rumors about this 'Outsider' but he never really gave it much thought.

If this Outsider has really taken an interest in his student, he would find out why and make sure it wouldn't spell doom for the faunus. Even with this apparent new ability to disappear out of thin air, even the security cameras couldn't tell how she did it – just that the mark glowed for a second before she disappeared.

For the time being, he had to have faith that Ruby and the rest would be able to find the errant member and bring her back to the safety of the school.

OoOoOoO

From on top on a tall building, Blake watched the sun rise from the horizon, her golden orbs almost matching the color that shone in the sky. Normally she loves to see these sights but now, her mind was not on her surroundings, but rather focusing on her own thoughts, thoughts that mostly focused about her team and her life. She thought about what she should do now that she was exposed as a cat faunus. Would Beacon accept her again? Would her team accept her? But mostly, her thoughts were on Yang, her partner and the last words she spoke before she left Beacon, using the gift the Outsider had given her.

'_I trust you with my life.'_

Why did that bother her so much? Was it that Yang actually considered her a friend? Someone that would gladly trust with their life? And yet, as she thought back to that moment, as she stared into the brawler's eyes, she didn't see a hint of deceit, no signs of lying. For all intents and purposes, Yang actually trusted her, even knowing that she was a faunus. Ruby seemed the same as well, even going as far as crashing into her and giving her the hardest hug she had ever felt.

But Weiss…she had never even bothered to show up or even check on her. Did Weiss really hate the faunus so much? Thinking back, she had never seen the girl talk with any faunus, even Velvet that would occasional sit with them and she was as innocent as they could be. The Schnee Dust Company was always on the White Fang's target list and was just about hated by all faunus by the fact that they use faunus as a work force. Did her family really vilify the faunus to their daughter? Why wouldn't she understand that all Faunus are not like that? Some just want to live in peace.

Her eyes went back to the Outsider's mark on her left hand. He gave her this, but did he expect her to do anything with it or did he do it just to see what she would do with it? She had to admit, the power felt nice as it suited her and her abilities just like a glove. She had spent the last few hours testing this new power and quickly discovered what it was capable of, giving her the ability to instantly 'blink' to a new location. However, she had quickly discovered her limits in using this ability in terms of range and ability but still…it was such an amazing power. There was so much potential for it and her mind went to a dark place and she began to imagine exactly what she could use it for.

A perfect tool for an assassin.

The mark on her hand glowed slightly with that thought and for a minute, Blake wondered what it would be like to take that path, follow the path of her former partner, Adam. It would be so easy with her skills and she wouldn't even have to worry about money. It was as he always said, _'As long as there are two people alive left on the planet, someone is going to want someone dead.'_

A sudden sound made her snap out of her dark thoughts, the glow disappearing from the mark as she looked down from her perch to see a familiar sight, the sight of the orange haired strange girl meeting her sight. From the first glance when her team met the girl, she knew that Penny was strange. The way she carried herself, hell even the way she spoke made her believe that she was some kind of robot but that was impossible, despite the advances in robotics by the SDC and other companies, she would've heard if someone was capable of making a human-like robot.

Another sigh escaped her lips as she shook her head, her feline ears twitching in the breeze. If she wanted answers in regards to her team, it wouldn't do any good avoiding them. At the very least, she should see them one last time, if only to get answers to her questions. She had a good life here and she wasn't ready to throw it away. After all, she came here to escape from the White Fang and she would be damned if she didn't fight to keep this life.

Clenching her fist, she drew upon the power of the Outsider and blinked out of view on her way back to Beacon.

OoOoOoO

_Beacon_

The trip back to Beacon was uneventful, even more so with her new ability that let her avoid any confrontation with the Grimm. She didn't want to take the chance to run into anybody so, in the cover of a nearby arch, she looked upon the large building and found a path that she could parkour up to, as well as keeping her in the shadow of the building, up to a specific unlocked window where she _knew_ nobody would be near in this time of day. Taking a deep breath, she got a running start and started up the building, making sure to keep herself hidden in the shadow. As she managed to get up, only needing to use Blink a few times for the high ledges, she finally reached the window and, like she expected, pushed the unlocked window open, quickly getting in and shutting the window behind her. A smirk came upon her lips as she saw where she was, right near Team RWBY and JNPR's dorm rooms. With any luck, JNPR should be in class and, if she got her schedule right, Yang should be the only one in the room as the gym was too busy this time of the day for her.

She could feel her heart pound as she took the steps toward the door, her head reaching behind her to grab her scroll so she could unlock the door. She paused before she did though, the tip a mere inch from the sensor, doubt starting to fill her mind. What if Yang rejected her? What if Weiss turned her in to her father's company and there was an assault team in there waiting for her? So many questions filled her mind, causing her to reconsider doing this but suddenly, she tensed up, her mind set on seeing this through. Putting the scroll to the door, she heard it click. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the handle and pushed it open.

To reveal an empty room.

She stood still, millions of things running through her head at the moment but only one made an impact, that Yang wasn't here. The thought hit her harder then she thought it would and, as she entered the room, she looked around for any signs. Yang's gym bag was still there so she wasn't at the gym, her bookbag was also here so she wasn't in class. It was too late for breakfast but too early for lunch. In fact, all of their bookbags was still here, which means they weren't in class but their weapons were gone which suggested training or maybe a unplanned trip to the forest for a hunt.

It was then she noticed her own bed. Neatly made but what drew her attention was her bow set upon the pillow. A shaky breath left her lips as she reached for it, gently picked it up as if it was the most fragile thing in the world. She had left this in the medical ward and she honestly thought she would never see it again. She lifted it up to her face and smelled it, the very potent smell of Yang filling her nostrils. Her eyes teared up, for as she knew for this to smell as it does, Yang would have to had held it to her person for a long long time.

Her cat ears twitched at a sound behind her. She turned around just to see Jaune, decked out in her casual attire, frozen to the spot as they locked eyes with each other. "Blake…?" Her ears twitched again. "Oh gods, it is you." Said faunus only had time to blink as the swordsman rushed forward and trapped her in a hug that almost rivaled her partner's infamous bear hugs. "I can't believe you're back. Have you talked to Yang yet? Or Ruby?"

"Jaune, please let-let go."

In a embarrassed manner that Blake found cute as she tried to compose herself as she was put down, she found herself smiling at the blonde. "Oh sorry. It's just that things have been kindacrazysinceyouleftandYangnearlyburnedtheschooldownlookingforyouandtherewererosepetaseverywh..."

Seeing that Jaune wasn't going to shut up anytime soon so she place a finger on his lips, smiling at the boy to put him at ease. "Take a breath Jaune and start over. You said that Yang almost burned down the school?"

He nodded. "Yeah, after you disappeared from the medical ward, she was on fire and was tearing up the school looking for you. It wasn't until Ozpin confirmed that you weren't here did she stop, just barely." He smiled at her, noticing his eyes go to her feline ears before meeting her eyes again. "She wasn't the only one. We were all looking for you. Are you alright Blake?"

"I...I'm alright." She could feel her heart pound in her chest after she heard what Yang had done, what they had done. "Are...are they here?"

"Last I heard, they're in Vale near the docks."

Elation swelled up in her as she heard that her team was looking for her, _her team_ was looking for her. Juane must have figured out what she was feeling as she smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder, however, her elation screeched to a halt as she realized something. "Wait…the girls? You mean Yang and Ruby do you?"

If anything, the smile got bigger. "No Blake, ALL of Team Ruby, Weiss included."

The feeling of elation came back, this time something new came with it…hope? Hope that both she and Weiss can become friends again? Whatever it was, she wanted to hold onto it. She smiled to Jaune and pocketed the ribbon. "Thank you jaune. I'm going to see if I can find them. Don't let them know I came back for now? I want to talk to them."

"Oh alright then. Do you want company? I'm headed down to Vale as well."

The cat faunus shook her head, "No thanks. I can find my own way." The blonde was about to respond to that when his eyes caught sight of her left hand glowing for an instant before he jumped, the girl disappearing right in front on him.

Blake couldn't help the smile on her face. She still had a chance, she could still live this life, never to run again. A tear escaped her eye as she blinked back down to the large arch before taking off toward the forest.

She had a team to find and she wasn't going to let anything stop her.

OoOoOoO

AN

So here we have chapter 2. If you are familiar with Dishonored lore, you will know that there are several ways this can go but I'll leave you guessing. :) I am still looking for a regular beta so PM me if you are interested.

Thanks to Walkman355 for looking over this chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

_**The Mark of the Outsider**_

_**Chapter 3**_

OoOoOoO

For the first time, in a long _long_ time, Yang was not hungry.

For a semblance user like Yang, who happens to be burning alive most of the time, it eats up her calories pretty quickly and thus she needs a steady intake. Her sister, Ruby, was just the same, even though she a bit more obvious about the food she eats. Still, the both of them had to eat regularly and completely. This time, however, the walking fire hazard didn't feel hungry, her mind too set on her missing partner. She was worried about Blake, worried about her, worried about that mark, worried about everything that pertained to the Faunus.

She frowned as she stabbed a piece of meat on her plate, an action that had not gone unnoticed by her sister. Did Blake think she wouldn't take too kindly to her being a Faunus? Did she make herself to be some kind of Faunus hater?

The stabbing of the helpless meat increased in intensity which caused the red head in the next seat to frown.

"Yang…"

It wasn't like she hated the Faunus, hell no. She viewed them as equals and had no problems with them. Hell, she even tried to get Velvet, that sweet rabbit Faunus (and excellent healer), to try and open up more by having them sit with them but the girl almost always found an excuse to leave.

"YANG!"

The blonde brawler snapped out of internal musings, turning to the source of the shout to find her sister with a deep frown. "Err, yeah sis?"

If anything, that frown turned even deeper, almost matching Weiss's signature frown. "You're not eating." She looked down and saw that, despite just about everything full of holes from being stabbed, she didn't eat anything. "Do I need to have Weiss freeze and force feed you?"

"Hey don't drag me into this."

"Look sis, I know how you're feeling about Blake. I miss her too, but you can't sacrifice yourself in the hunt! You need to eat, both of us!"

From across the table, Weiss couldn't help but smile at the bickering between the two sisters. She had not been surprised to learn about their dietary requirements due to their semblances. She was well aware that some semblances took a heavy toll on the body and needed a certain amount of intake to ensure they did not collapse from malnutrition. But to be honest, she felt the same as her teammates. She was worried about Blake as well and felt the urge to keep looking for her despite the hunger she was feeling. If she lost Blake, lost her because she drove her away knowing it was all her fault… Blake was one of her friends and losing one of her friends would hurt more than any wound.

"Weiss?" Said girl snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her partner call out to her. Her eyes focused to see Ruby looking at her with concern in her silver eyes. "Are you alright? You shivered. Are you cold?"

"No I'm… I'm alright. Just have a lot of things on my mind."

"Like a certain cat faunus?"

Weiss blushed at the accusation, her lips twisting into a snarl. "At least I didn't almost burn down the school looking for her!"

"Says the girl who turned Russell into a frozen popsicle when you heard him bitching about Blake."

As Weiss and Yang started bickering back and forth, Ruby couldn't help but smile. She knew that despite the bickering, it wasn't as hate filled like it used to be. Now, this was more like harmless bickering between family. She hoped that when they found Blake, they could be a family again.

OoOoOoO

As optimistic as team RWBY's leader was feeling, the missing member of RWBY was not. A frown marred her face as she looked up the distance from her vantage point on top of a tall building, well away from the eyes of any passerby's. As skilled as she was at tracking and how proud she was at said skills, she was very disappointed at the fact that she could not find her team mates. Yang was just about the loudest of all the team and her semblance was prone to flare depending on her current state of emotions, which wasn't too hard to trigger if you knew exactly which buttons to push. Ruby, she had quickly learned, had a strong and somehow permanent smell of roses attached to her but she couldn't even pick up a whiff of the familiar smell. Weiss, she had thought, would be the easiest to track due to the various perfumes she tended to use and the smell of very expensive soap but alas, her nose couldn't pick it up.

But as the sun started to drop down for the day, the sky starting to tint orange, she went over her mental checklist of places that she had been to. First were the sweet shops and weapon shops that she KNEW were Ruby's favorites but the girl haven't been there in a while. Her next stop was the local fire station. She had been surprised to learn that Yang was on first name terms with the members of the squad.

Mostly because it was they who had to deal with the results of Yang's sudden outburst of her flame semblance.

They had not seen her either unfortunately, much to the amusement of the fire chief who seemed hurt she had "forgotten" them. Even searching spots that Weiss liked to visit proved fruitless, even if a couple of them threw her out because of her cat ears. She had considered putting the bow back on but decided against it. She was tired of hiding behind a bow and was not going to let herself be bullied into hiding again.

The last place she went to was a dust shop near the docks, the same dust shop that Ruby had first encountered Roman Torchwick and proceeded to beat his goons senseless and go up against the head of the Syndicate himself. The owner turned out to be a very nice old man, telling her about her visits afterwards and spending time with 'an old man like myself' but Ruby haven't been around lately so it turned out to be a bust.

It was then she learned something interesting. Last night, there was a raid down by the docks and several containers belonging to the Schnee Dust company were stolen. That in itself wasn't as peculiar, but what was interesting was the fact that the robbery was led by Roman Torchwick and assisted by the members of the White Fang.

Now THAT gave her pause.

Humans and the White Fang working together? The very idea of it was absurd but as Blake looked at the newspaper clipping and the photo from the security camera, she had to wonder what the White Fang was up to. That's where we find Blake now, up on top of the 'From Dawn to Dust' shop, too many questions running through her mind and not enough answers. Another sigh left her lips as she stood up. She was getting nowhere sitting like this. Maybe she would look around the warehouse district again. With any luck, she would be able to pick up their scent there.

OoOoOoO

There was a tense silence as Yang sized up the newcomer that literally dropped in from the sky, her entire body tensed up, ready for a fight. She narrowed her eyes at the monkey Faunus who dared to stand in her way of finding her partner. A deep growl left her lips when he chuckled nervously, feeling the beginning of flames licking her body. A surprised yelp came out of the monkey Faunus as the irate blonde grabbed his shirt and pulled him close, the snarl flowing from her lips. "And what the fuck are you doing here, _Sun Wukong?"_

"Eh hehehe, would you believe me if I said I was here to help you find Blake?"

The newly named 'Sun' yelped as he was dropped to the ground, the barrel of a primed shotgun gauntlet staring him in the face. "How about I beat you so bad that you'll be in a coma for a week!"

"Umm, Yang? Do you know this rapscallion?"

"Isn't he the monkey Faunus you caught with Blake yesterday?"

"Hey, I was proven innocent!"

The brawler trawled but stayed quiet, her gauntlet primed and aimed right at his face. It was true; he had not done anything to her partner as the security footage confirmed it. In fact, so far he had not done anything mistrustful and the mere fact that he was here, out of Beacon's custody...

"Are you a friend of the White Fang?"

"Hey, while I admire their intent, I don't approve of their methods."

"Your opinion on Humans?"

"Well the one holding me hostage is kinda hot."

"Not what I meant and you know it."

"Hey hey easy there…" Sun couldn't help but stare at the barrel of the shotgun pointed at his face. Even if they were only stun rounds, having it at point blank range could do some serious damage. "Not unlike those Fang pricks, I really don't have a beef with them. I'm not that kinda person to hold a grudge you know?"

Silence befell the two as they sized each other up, judging each other. As much as Yang wanted to prove otherwise, she couldn't help but believe him. She knew Beacon's policies regarding detainees and that they could only be released by the headmaster's grace. "What do you two think?" She asked her teammates, keeping her eyes focused on the sweating monkey boy below her.

"I believe him," Ruby said, a soft smile on her face. "He didn't have to come help us."

"I'd rather keep an eye on him but…" Weiss spoke up, a hard, but not cold, look directed at him. "He does seem sincere."

"Very well." Sun breathed a sigh of relief when Yang relaxed her gauntleted arm, only for that same arm to shoot forward and grab the other side of his shirt, the faunus yelping as she pulled him up face to face, her eyes turning into an even deeper shade of red. "I warn you. If you do anything, ANYTHING, to hurt us, I will kill you and incinerate your body so they will never find you." Then, like the flick of a switch, the angry face turned happy. "Okay?"

"Yea...ow!" Sun yelped as Yang dropped him back onto the hard ground, the sound of the gauntlets retracting being heard before a small hand extended out to him.

"Sorry about my sister." As Sun took the redhead's hand, he yelped, this time in surprise, as she yanked him up to his feet. "Blake's her partner and she's very protective of her team."

"I can tell. You're a strong squirt aren't you?"

"Well not as strong as my sister but I do alright." The blonde faunus couldn't help but smile when the girl beamed, finding her happiness contagious. "My name is Ruby." The smile was still on her face even as the girl introduced herself, holding out her hand in greeting.

_'She must have a good relationship with Faunus if she's this cheerful around me.'_ While it was true most of his good encounters with humans were not that common, he still appreciated the times when he did come across them. "Sun, Sun Wukong."

"Nice to meet you Sun!"

The smile remained on his face even as he moved his hand over to her partner but faltered when he saw the look on her face. _'Oh, she's one of them.'_ It was a look he knew all too well, the look of people that thought that the Faunus were dirty, filthy animals. He was about to put his hand down when his eyes caught a shift in her eyes before her hand came out and grabbed his.

"Weiss. It's nice to meet you." To Sun's surprise, she actually held onto his hand as she shook it, the smile coming back onto his face. He knew he had to watch himself around her but she seemed to be opening up to him.

That was good right?

"Hey! You guys coming? The docks are waiting!"

"COMING SIS! Come on Sun!"

"Hey hey hey, hold on!" But Sun's pleas fell on deaf ears as Ruby just about dragged him over to where the blonde sister was waiting. He had meant what he said. He intended fully on helping them find Blake, the deal he made with the Headmaster of Beacon they didn't need to know just yet.

OoOoOoO

A groan came out of Lunn's lips as he and his team made the trek down the warehouse district. It was all the White Fang's fault that they were out here on this miserable night. If it wasn't for that Cinder woman, they wouldn't be working for the White Fang and out robbing dust shops in the middle of the night. The robbery itself went off without a hitch, in and out, no...his problem was the lack of profit. Not only did their profits from these...excursions shrink, their reputation had started to go downhill to being feared to being nothing more than cut rate thieves. Another sigh came out of his mouth as he turned back to his team. They may not have said it but he knew that they felt the same way. "Come on guys, the sooner we get this stuff back, the sooner we can turn in." They were at least thankful that Roman had sent them out at a time where it would be late enough but not too late to where their performance would suffer.

However, they were not stealthy enough to avoid being detected by a group of Huntresses (and one Faunus) in training. They were followed as Team RWBY followed the Syndicate goons. They came across them after coming across the shop that they had robbed. It was actually thanks to Yang who had been taking lessons from Blake in tracking that they had found the culprits.

And so they followed them.

"Remind me again why we're not calling the police?"

"Because Weiss..." Ruby spoke softly, keeping her voice low and her eyes peeled on the warehouse where team RWBY followed the robbers. "These guys are just small fish. If we find the big fish, it'll make more of an impact."

Weiss stared at her partner for a minute before it finally struck her. "Blake's been tutoring you hasn't she?"

"Uh hehe, is it that obvious?"

To her credit, Weiss could only smile and shake her head. It didn't take very long for the group to realize that, after they had learned that she was a faunus, a cat faunus specifically, where her love of tuna came from. At the very least, she would at least thank the faunus for helping with her partner's education, even if she's two years behind. She was right, however, following them would most likely lead to whoever was calling the shots and if what the paper said about the White Fang and the Syndicate working together was true, then this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

That fact that they were in the warehouse district also looking for Blake gave them an added incentive.

OoOoOoO

Blake scowled.

The reflection in the mirror scowled back.

For all her skills, for all her pride in tracking, she never felt as ashamed of herself then now. Here it is past 10 pm and she wasn't even close to finding her team. She even messaged Jaune and asked if they had come back. He had said no and even said that Ruby had messaged him saying that they would be staying in Vale for the night with the grace of the headmaster. That made her even angrier. They were all here but she had failed to find them. It wasn't even like they were trying to hide, they were _looking_ for her in the first place, so why couldn't she find her…damn…team?

So that's where Blake found herself now…munching on tuna while staring at her reflection on a nearby window on a roof.

She knew that they wouldn't stay out for long. While Yang may want to, once that girl made up her mind she made up her mind, it would have to be Ruby to talk her down, so she knew she had to turn in sooner or later. As she finished off the last of the tuna, a sudden _boom_ was heard by her sensitive feline ears. She perked up and turned around just in time to see a column of smoke rise in the distance and somehow, she _knew_ it was Yang. She couldn't help the smile on her face as the can clattered on the ground, quickly slinging her weapons across her back before taking off toward the smoke.

It took her a bit of time due to the distance but with her abilities, and Blink for the longer distances, she managed to reach the area. She kept herself hidden however, while she surveyed the situation. Numerous bodies lined the ground; still alive she noticed, with wounds she knew came from Ember Celica. As she looked, her eyes came across the burning vehicle which had exploded. Her heart fluttered as she saw evidence of not only Yang, but Ruby and Weiss.

Weiss was here.

She paused as she felt something run through her, something that she had not felt for a long time, not since when she was in the White Fang. She shook her head to clear herself. She has to be focused right now. Blake perked up when her ears caught the sound of crashing in a nearby warehouse which caused her to smile. If her team was still here, they were probably be in there. The building itself was too far for a single jump or Blink but that doesn't mean she couldn't use both. Taking a few steps back, she sprinted and jumped of the roof, letting herself get as far as she could before she started dropping, she clenched her fist and let the power flow within her, blinking out of existence and reappearing on the roof. She headed toward one angled piece of glass and peered in, expecting to see her team together.

What she saw, however, made her heart drop like a stone.

Weiss Schnee was indeed there, however, not in the state she was hoping. Her back was angled toward her so she couldn't quite see her face but it wasn't her face she was focused on, but rather Myrtenaster gripped tightly into her hands, the blade pointed down toward a monkey faunus, the same faunus that was in Beacon's infirmary when she woke up, but why was Weiss threatening him? Why was he even here with them in the first place?

Suddenly, the fears came back full force. It all came back to her, Weiss turning against her, the loneliness, going back on the run. She had come here to find out if she was still welcome and yet as she watched Weiss threaten the blond faunus, she realized that Weiss would never change. A growl left Blake's lips as she clenched her fists. She would follow in the footsteps of her father and the cold war between human and faunus would continue on. The mark on her hand started feeling like it was burning but she paid it no mind. She would not allow another faunus, one of her own kind, to suffer because of the misguided views of humans.

One of them was going to die tonight and Blake didn't plan it on being her.

Her face set in determination, she pulled the windows open, very thankful that it wasn't one of the squeaky ones. She looked around, failing to find the sisters, which meant that Weiss somehow managed to rope them in or they were dealing with other Syndicate members, but she was going to make sure they didn't find her body. Crossing the threshold, she dropped herself down onto the floor, the resulting sound being heard by her target. She watched as Weiss perked up, even as she primed her legs, and turn around, a confused and surprised look on her face. "Blake?" She asked, the body about to turn around. With a look of rage and hatred on her face, Blake shot forward and grabbed her, keeping her arms pinned as she let the power flow through her, the two girls blinking out of existence, leaving a confused monkey faunus behind.

OoOoOoO

"That should be the last of them." Yang had a big grin on her face as she reloaded Ember Celia, her eyes going over the unconscious bodies littering the ground, even as her hands worked in reloading the shells. These goons were just as pathetic as the ones in Junior's club. She turned to face her sister who was shaking her head. "What?"

"Did you have to blow up the car?"

"What? They were going to get away. I couldn't let them and besides, they had time to get out."

"Bah, you go too far sometimes. You've seen Weiss?"

"Snow princess? Last I saw she was in the warehouse with monkey boy." As if on cue, the door burst open and Sun came out, worry on his face. "Sun? What's wrong?"

"Blake's here!"

"What?"

"She just appeared out of nowhere and looked reeeeally pissed. She grabbed Weiss and disappeared again." Yang shared a look with her sister, a single thought being shared between the two of them. They needed to find Blake before she decided to kill Weiss.

OoOoOoO

Weiss stumbled into existence in a daze, her mind not being able to comprehend what its body just went through so it settled on collapsing on her knees while her mind stopped being dizzy. Her mind faintly registered a voice but she didn't act on it. It wasn't until her mind cleared up and she moved to stand up, only for someone to do it for her. She was stood up and Weiss stared at the person in front of her. It took a moment for her mind to comprehend exactly _who_ was standing in front of her but once she did, her eyes widened. "Bla…"

Unfortunately that was all she was able to get out before she was punched across the jaw, the force of the strike knocking her off her feet for a few feet before landing on the ground with a thud. However, she wasn't a huntress in training as she quickly recovered from the blow, bringing up Myrtenaster just in time to block a strike by Gambol Shroud, her surprised eyes staring into Blake's own hate filled golden eyes. "Blake?" She whispered, "Why are you like this?"

"You will never change." Came the completely unexpected answer, causing Weiss's eyes to widen in shock. "You will also be the same stuck up, racist bitch you always were." The blades sung as they slid against each other, the crescendo singing as the tips flew together. Weiss quickly countered by summoning a glyph in between her and Blake, the glyph pulsing black just as Blake's katana struck it, the force being rebounded back upon her and sending her flying back, but she quickly recovered and landed on her feet.

"Blake listen to me! Would you calm down?!"

"Shut up!"

Blake shot forward again and Weiss, deciding that she needed Blake to stay put, triggered the chamber to set on blue dust and slammed the tip of the blade down on the roof, a ring of ice flowing out and successfully trapping Blake in her icy prison. "Would you shut up and listen?! We came here looking for you!"

"I know."

That caused Weiss to pause and blink in confusion. "Well wait, if you know then why…" Her words trailed off when she caught sight of Blake's left hand, the mark on her hand glowing before she suddenly disappeared. She only had a moment's confusion before she realized where Blake went, by the fact that her blade was now across her neck.

"I've been looking for you as well."

"Blake…"

"SHUT UP!" The blade pushed harder against her neck and she wisely silenced herself. "I thought you could change. When I heard you were looking for me with Yang and Ruby, I allowed myself to hope that you were going to accept me."

"Blake would you listen to me?!" Weiss cried out when the blade slid across her neck a little, not a lot, but enough to slice a bit.

"I will NEVER listen to you again. I found you with that faunus at the tip of your rapier. You were going to kill him."

"Wha…you're…ugh…" Blake's blade may be tight against her skin but she wasn't going to let Blake carry on with this misunderstanding. "You don't understand Blake. Sun saved me."

"Oh so you bothered to learn the name of a filthy mongrel?"

As Blake spat out her words back to her with a sharp tongue, Weiss was starting to realize just how bad she was toward the Faunus. She had associated all the Faunus with the White Fang and thought them all filthy but her time with Sun had proved her wrong. She had realized that not all the faunus agreed with the way the White Fang worked, disagreeing with their methods. Her talks with Sun were very enlightening and it gave her a lot of things to think about.

But what was the most earth shattering was that Sun had saved her from a goon almost getting in a lucky shot. As he laid there, grin on his face and his chest bruised by the concussion blast, she realized that she needed to change, before she ended up in worse shape than anybody here.

Her attention was brought back to the present as Blake called for her attention. Her eyes narrowed as she was determine to make her teammate realize that she was wrong, that she can change. She let her aura gather again in prep for another glyph. "You fucking idiot." As expected, Blake was confused and distracted by her statement and her slack loosened and in that instant; Weiss triggered the glyph at their feet and sent them flying up in the air a few feet before landing near the edges of the roof. Once Weiss landed, however, her hand went to her throat and she sighed in relief to find her neck was uncut.

However, she misjudged Blake's ability to recover and as she looked up just in time for the faunus to materialize in front of her and slam her to the ground, the black katana resting and pointing directly at her throat. She was pinned, she realized, and as she looked at Blake's eyes, she could see she was ready to kill.

In retrospect, Weiss realized she could've handled this better but right now, right in this instant, there was only one solution that she could think of. "If you really think that I can't change, then kill me now." Making a bit of a show of it, she tossed Myrtenaster away, the blade clattering as it rolled and settled. She watched as Blake followed the blade with her shocked eyes before moving back to the white haired girl. "I came here to tell you that I want you back on RWBY, that I was wrong. I want to be your friend Blake but if you truly, honestly believe that I will always be the stuck up bitch that I was when you first met me, then kill me now."

With that, Weiss fell silent, keeping her eyes firm upon Blake's golden eyes. She meant what she said, in the ultimate test of faith, she was leaving her life in Blake's hands. She let her body relax; trying not to give her any indication she was lying or anything to make Blake believe she was lying. She watched as a flurry of emotions played across Blake's face. She would give her teammate the time she needed. However, it seemed that Blake didn't need much time as she lifted the blade, her other hand gripping it to steady herself, the point still aimed at her neck but what made Weiss hope were the tremors in her hands. She had always known the girl to have a steady hand and if they were shaking now, it meant she was getting conflicted.

Then the tears came.

Her body stayed still despite the tears falling on her. This had to keep up. Blake needed to believe that she was sincere in her intentions. However, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar mop of red hair poke up and she cursed herself for forgetting about her teammates. She had to stop them from interfering. Praying to god Blake doesn't misinterpret her actions, she let her aura flow through her arm and let the energy release in the form of a row of glyphs, hopefully blocking both Ruby and Yang from smashing through the barrier.

A choking sound brought Weiss's attention back to her immediate problem. Blake's hands were shaking now and the tears flowed freely. Then in a blink in an eye, Blake's hand steadied itself and in one swift motion, the blade slammed down.

For a moment, there was no sound. Even as the glyphs died down, nobody moved an inch or made a sound. Even Ruby, the normally hyperactive girl whom it took very much effort and bribery to silence, was as quiet as a mouse as both her and her sister were rooted in place. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Weiss took a breath and realized she was still alive. Her eyes moved to her right and saw Gambol Shroud embedded in the floor beside her. Slowly, very slowly, she turned back to face Blake who kept on crying but within the crying, she realized that Blake was trying to speak.

"You…st-stupd i-id-idiot…" Weiss blinked. That was normally something she said. "How…why…I…I w-w-would've kil-led you!" A part of her was amazed and shocked at the sight of the normally stoic Blake breaking down. She had always known Blake to be the most logical one of the group and held a tight reign on her emotions but she could hardly blame her. It was then a thought occurred to her. She had sworn to herself that she would change, to ensure that her attitude would not get her killed or any of her other friends killed so with that in mind, being very unthreatening, she lifted herself up and encased the crying faunus in a hug.

She felt the girl tense up at the action, but she would not relent. If she was to grow, she had to adjust to but that didn't make the experience feel any less…alien. Sure Ruby was quite the hugger but she never really receipted them and her family…well, let's just leave it at that. So when Blake latched onto her with the strength that was on Ruby's level, she was prepared for that. "I am sorry for what I said to you Blake. I realized that I was wrong and I want to make it up to you."

"You-you d-don't ha-hate me?"

"I could never hate my teammate. You...you are my friend."

Upon registering those words, those completely unexpected words, Blake started crying again, much more heavily this time. She was so torn when she realized that the person that she, not five minutes ago, was ready to kill the person that she hated so much and that person was now comforting her like a mother comforts her child or someone comforting their lover. She froze when she felt something upon her head, but realizing it was Weiss's hands moving up, her fists clenched but relaxed when, instead of pain, she felt a soft and pleasant touch upon her ears. The act made her tense up but her body started relaxing at the soft petting.

She wasn't used to such feeling but god damn did it feel good.

Soon enough the sobs retreated and in its place were contented sighs. She had her face buried in Weiss's neck and she honestly felt more relaxed and at peace in a long time. It felt…very strange being here in Weiss's arms but a good kinda strange. A part of her wished she could stay like this forever, but she knew she couldn't so it was with great regret she started pulling back from Weiss, wiping her eyes free from the tears as she looked up to the heiress. "Sorry I got your dress wet."

A choked laugh came out of Weiss's throat, a smile now on her face. She looked good smiling, Blake noticed, she should smile more. "I'm not too worried about my dress right now Blake. Are _YOU_ alright?"

The cat faunus sniffed and rubbed her eye again. "Yeah, for now at least. I'm sorry I tried to kill you."

"Bah, you weren't the first one to try and you certainty won't be the last." In typical Weiss fashion, she tried to play it off as something simple but Blake knew it wasn't. "But I think someone wants to speak to you."

Blake followed her eyes and her own eyes came up her own partner and sister, both waiting patiently but even from here, she could see Yang would just like nothing more than to run up and gather her up in a bone-crushing hug. She turned back to Weiss as they got up, the girl even handing her katana back to her. "I told Ruby that I was going to be the best teammate she ever had and I stand by those words. I will be the best teammate she and this team will have but to you, I will be the best _friend_ you ever had. I know I was wrong and what kind of person would I be if I didn't change hmm? Now turn around and go face your partner."

In one swift motion, Blake was turned around and gently pushed toward Yang and the rest on the onlookers, which now included the monkey faunus named Sun. To be honest, she wasn't looking too forward to this. It was hard enough talking to Weiss but to Yang, her own partner that she ran out on, it felt like…like…she wasn't sure what it felt like but it was bad nonetheless. However, it seemed that Yang didn't want to wait for Blake to approach because as soon as she and Ruby realized they were walking toward them, they rushed forward toward her.

Once they got to her and stopped, no one said a word but after about a minute, Blake reached into her pocket and withdrew the ribbon that Yang had left on her bed and held it out. The blonde brawler's eyes widened in recognition at the silky fabric, lifting her eyes to meet Blake's own downcast ones. "Yang, I…"

Whatever Blake was going to say next was choked out by Yang lurching forward and pulling the faunus into the tightest hug she had ever felt from the blonde brawler but the girl wasn't too disturbed by the hug. No…she was more disturbed by the sobbing coming from her partner. "You came back…you came back." Blake, despite almost being squeezed in half, returned the hug as best as she could, regret filling her mind of ever leaving. It was then, however, she felt _another_, albeit weaker but still powerful, hug coming from behind her. Blake glanced back and saw her leader, impatient to wait till her sister let go, hugging her from behind with tears in her eyes but the stupid grin plastered on her face. "I'm glad you're back Blake. We missed you."

"I can tell."

"EXACTLY!" Blake turned back around when Yang shouted, breaking the hug to look at her dead in the eyes. "This is your home now Blake, here with us. You're my partner Blake and that means that we have to stick together. Just please…don't leave us again. Me, Rubes, and even Weiss, we want you to stay. It wouldn't be team RWBY without you. It would just be RWY and that sounds horrible." It was then Blake realized something as she stared into Yang's eyes and even feeling Ruby tense up behind her. It was a look in Yang's eyes that she knew all too well as she saw it in Adam's eyes in his rare vulnerable moments.

They had been abandoned.

What came next she could never figure out why this power manifested at that particular moment. In the next few seconds, her vision shifted into…something else, not noticing the burning on her left hand. The outline of all bodies, alive or unconscious, turned yellow and from their eyes, she could see their field of vision. The world turned a brighter and into a bluish hue but her eyesight, while already remarkable due to her faunus heritage, improved vastly. What amazed her was the fact that she could even see the unconscious bodies down on the street and even the few animals not scared away by the previous fight but the changes were starting to become too much. She started swaying on her feet a bit, even as she screwed her eyes shot and held them with her hands even as she tried to get ahold of herself.

She heard Yang call out to her and felt Ruby grab and hold onto her. She felt the knowledge rush into her but there was something else, a whispering that seemed to pertain to the girl in front of her but she blocked it out, trying to make the pain in her eyes go away. It took a bit but the power that flowed through her finally subsided and her eyes returned to normal. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, looking up to find a terrified look on Yang's, completely normal, face. "Blake? Are you alright?"

"I…yeah, I just…just had a moment of dizziness."

Yang's eyes narrowed as her eyes moved to her hand. "It was that mark again. What is it Blake? Who gave that to you?"

"It's…it's hard to explain." Deciding to move the attention away from the Outsider, she turned toward the monkey faunus who had been very patient. "You're Sun right?"

"Sun Wokong, pleasure to meet you."

"Indeed. I hope Yang didn't hurt you too much."

"Hey!"

"Ah don't worry about that. Beacon's docs fixed me up good. Besides, I'm always happy to help out a fellow faunus." Now a big grin appeared on Sun's face. "You look much cuter without the bow." However, the grin faulted when the sound of Ember Celia engaging made itself known and Blake found herself smiling as she played mediator between a pissed off Yang and a grinning Sun.

OoOoOoOoO

_Beacon – an hour later_

Yang sighed as she leaned back against the wall, watching Ruby annoy Weiss once more, but she had been around Weiss long enough to know that Weiss actually liked the 'dolt' as she so calls their leader. In fact, she would even go as far as to say that she prefers the talks with her sister and even the hugs. Another sigh left Yang's lips as she looked at the door to the headmaster's office. Blake was in there now talking to the headmaster, trying to get the okay to come back to her team. Despite what Weiss thinks, she is well aware of the rules of Beacon, she studied them shorty before coming here thanks to Ruby, and she knew that if a student goes AWOL, they must have either the Headmaster's or the assistant headmaster's grace to come back. However, with her newly unveiled faunus heritage and this new strange power she had, she wasn't sure if things would calm down any time soon, if ever.

She looked over to find Sun on a nearby bench. While he did help in finding Blake, she still had doubts about his intentions but Ozpin seemed to trust him so for the time being, she would give him the benefit of the doubt. She perked up when the sound of the door opening sounded out, all conversations ceasing as all eyes turned toward the opening door. Breaths were held as they watched Blake come out, her face as passive as ever.

"Well?" Came Ruby's voice after a moment of tense silence. "What did he say?"

Blake didn't respond, however, her face still holding that passive look. As the seconds ticked by, the thought that ran through everyone's mind was that Ozpin had kicked her out, that she wasn't part of the team any more. Ruby was about to move and console her teammate when a wide grin broke out on her face. "I'm back."

In the instant the words were recognized, Ruby let out a high pitched squeal and rushed forward to embrace her teammate, burying her head in Blake's bosom as she squeezed the lift of her. Yang merely chuckled at her little sister's actions but decided to join in, taking place behind Blake and encasing her in the tightest bear hug she can muster producing a Blake sandwich.

"You two are the most affectionate people I have ever known." Blake comment in between breaths. "I don't think I've ever been hugged this much."

"I think we better get used to it." Blaked grinned at Weiss as she approached, even as the sisters let her go. "We got three years to go before we graduate."

"Aww come on Weiss, I know you like my hugs."

"Not when you squeeze the life out of me you dolt!"

As Ruby and Weiss continued their playful banter, Blake turned to Sun and said that Ozpin was waiting for him. He needed and, after giving her a quick wave, opened the doors and closed them behind him. She turned back around just in time for Ruby to pump her fist in the air and declare '_As the leader of Team RWBY, I declare we all turn in for the night!'_

Sleep sounded good for her considering what she went through the past few hours but there was one more thing she wanted to do before she turned in for the night. As Yang took a step forward, Blake reached out and gently took ahold of her arm. "You guys go ahead." She spoke, even as Yang looked at her. "We'll catch up." Her team leader was confused and looked like she wanted to say something but she was saved by Weiss who just grabbed her hand and started pulling her, giving Blake a wink. Once the two was away and around the corner, did Blake release her partner's arm.

"Something wrong Blakey?"

"Yang, I…I just wanted to thank you for coming after me." Said girl grinned and opened her mouth but the faunus quickly silenced her with her finger. "Let me finish." She didn't remove the finger until Yang nodded. "I'll admit that I had a bad night. I found myself thinking things I swore to myself I would never think again and it's this stupid Outsider's fault." Yang's eyes went down to Blake's left hand when the girl grabbed it. "But when I heard you were looking for me, I felt something that I haven't felt in a long time, hope. Hope that I finally found a place where I can call home and now I'm back here…with you."

Yang was speechless. She had never thought that Blake, her own partner felt this way and yet, her heart swelled with happiness she was able to do her partner good. As Blake started speaking again, she focused on her, watching as the faunus's hand went to her pocket and pulled out her ribbon, the same ribbon that she had left on Blake's bed. "I know it's not much but here…take this." She stood still as her partner reached up and gently wrapped the fabric around her neck. "Keep this safe for me?" Her hand came up and felt for her neck, finding the ribbon wrapped neatly around her neck. She grinned and smiled.

"Of course I will Blakey."

"Good." What came next she would never forget as Blake took a step forward and placed a gentle kiss upon her lips. It only last for a couple seconds but to Yang, it felt heavenly. "I will never forget what you all have done for me, not Ruby, not Weiss, and especially not you so again, thank you, thank you for keeping me sane." Yang stood there dumbfounded even after Blake gave her another kiss, this time on the cheek as she walked where Ruby and Weiss headed off to. With shaking hands, she touched her lips where Blake's taste still lingered. It took a few seconds for her to snap out of it but when she did, a smile came onto her face as she too turned to follow.

OoOoOoO

_Dorm Rooms_

Blake kept the smile on her face even as Yang bound up to her, a grin on her face and a pep in her step. As they neared their dorm, she saw Ruby notice the change in her sister. She looked confused for a moment, her eyes moving between Blake and Yang, a slow look of realization appearing in her eyes but thankfully she didn't say anything, merely turning back around and Blake knew that she would probably be hearing something from the scythe wielder about dating her sister soon enough.

Once they finally arrived at their dorm rooms, Blake waited patiently while Ruby declared herself as the 'door opener' and tried to open the door but when she started patting herself down looking for the scroll/key. She shook her head in amusement when Weiss started bashing the poor girl before she pulled out her own. Weiss unlocked the door just as Ruby pulled out the scroll with a victorious shout. From the corner of her eye, she saw her partner shake her head in exasperation and heard her mumble _'What am I going to do with her?'_ before following her sister into the room.

Blake followed shortly after, closing her eyes for a minute to let herself inhale the smell of the room, letting the familiar scents fill her nose. She had missed this, missed the homely feel of this place. Even if Weiss tends to bicker with Ruby and Yang a lot, Blake could tell it lacked the edge it used to. She opened her eyes, expecting to see the things she was used to.

What met her sight, however, was not what she was used to.

As her eyes laid upon the broken expanse, seeing her teammates frozen in time, she realized she was back in the Outsider's realm, appropriately named the Void. _'Oh no, not again.'_

"I'm surprised at you Blake." Ears twitched at the voice behind her and Blake swerved around, her golden eyes seeing the Outsider, still hovering, with his arms crossed and the smirk still on his face. "You had the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company in your grasp, the chance to deal a great blow to the same company who treats Faunus as slave labor and yet you spared her. I'm older then the rocks your civilization was built on and even _I_ didn't see that coming.

"I already have enough blood on my hands Outsider." Said Blake with a growl. "I left the White Fang to leave that life behind."

"And now you find yourself in her good graces. Interesting where life takes you hmm?"

The cat faunus was about to retort when a thought suddenly struck her. With the way he spoke, it was like he knew more then he said and considered what he was capable of; she was starting to wonder if he was some kind of manipulator or can see future events. "Why are you doing this? You could've given this," She held out her left hand. "To anybody and yet, you chose me. Why? Why do you find me so interesting?"

"You could've killed Weiss and left to start a new life, no longer fearing but being feared in returned, but you didn't. What will that mean, I wonder, in the days to come? I've lived a long, long time and these are the moments I wait for."

'_Choice? That's what he finds so fascinating? To see what path someone goes down?'_

"I hope your new vision serves you well. Take care Blake."

In an almost instant transition, Blake found her vision shifting from the sight of the Void to total darkness. However, she could still here but it wasn't the ambient sounds of the Void, but rather, muted but clearing up, sounds of her teammates. It was then she realized that her eye lids were closed so taking care, she slowly opened them, her vision coming in muted but it was rapidly clearing up and she found herself staring into the worried eyes of Yang. "Yang?"

"Blake! Oh god you're alright! You had us all worried!"

"What's going on?"

"You've been standing here, completely unresponsive, for the past ten minutes and your hand…"

When Yang trailed off, Blake looked at the limb in questions, her golden eyes setting themselves on the fading glow of her mark. She sighed and closed her eyes, giving them a rub as she knew her life would never be the same because of the Outsider's influence and now it was time to tell her team exactly what was going on.

"I think…" The cat faunus spoke, getting her teammates attention. "I think it's time I told you all what happened after I ran off…and who gave me this mark."

OoOoOoO

So here we are with the end of chapter 3. A HUGE thanks to Sixteen Vanilla Beans for betaing this as well as Walkman355. Don't think this is the end of the story just yet...I have plenty left for Blake to go through before I feel like I can end this.

If you like, please leave a review and follow this story for future updates.


	4. Chapter 4

_** The Mark of the Outsider **_

_**Chapter 4**_

Blake was floating…floating across the vast emptiness of the Void, her hair floating around her as she drifted. She felt herself surrounded by something but this something wasn't harmful, it was something else, something she couldn't quite figure out. The peace of this realm was broken by a sound in the vastness. Her eyes opened to investigate but as soon as the sight of Adam staring at her was registered in her mind, her eyes snapped open in shock as her body shot up from the bed, her head narrowly missing the underwood of Yang's bed.

Her golden eyes were wide with fright as her heart raced, breaths rushing in and out as the fear set the pace. As her eyes swept over the dimly lit room, she began to calm down when she realized that Adam was not here. She let her body relax as she swept her legs over to the side, letting her hair flow around her as she held her head in her hands. She hadn't had that nightmare in a long time. Although the inclusion of the Void was new, Adam haunting her was nothing new. Deep down, she always had the fear that he would going to find her and either take her back or kill her on the spot.

A groan left her lips as she straightened herself, only to jump as an arm swung down right in front of her face. It took her a moment to realize that the arm belonged to her bunk mate above her. She couldn't help but chuckle as she gave it a poke, her ears catching the sounds of the snores of her blonde partner above her. She could just imagine how the blonde looked, turned onto her stomach, hair splayed out all around her and even a thin trail of drool coming from her mouth. A small giggle came out of Blake's mouth as she imagined the sight. Slowly, she stood up and gently took Yang's hand into her own, lifting it up as her eyes caught sight of the slumbering blonde. The girl was actually on her stomach but she had somehow scooted to the edge of the bed and thus why her arm fell over. She replaced the fallen limb on her side but held onto her, her hand mixed in with the blonde's, but she took a moment to examine the girl. Never had she thought she would see the girl someone who she would consider a lover.

Her mind took her back to yesterday and the kiss she gave to her, remembering just how good it felt to lock lips with the blonde. She was aware of her own sexuality and had experimented back during her days with the White Fang but what she felt in that one moment was like nothing she had ever felt. The best part was that she was fine with her faunus heritage, that she was willing to be intimate with her. The smile stayed on her lips as she placed Yang's arm across her stomach before getting down back onto the floor, her eyes catching sight of the Outsider's mark on her left hand.

They had taken the news just as well as expected, even Weiss. Ruby was the only one to see the good side of this new and sudden power being given by a higher power but the rest understood what _could've_ happened. She could've went any number of paths and that was exactly what the Outsider wanted, to watch and see. She had expected the bombardment of questions to follow but she was surprised they didn't come from Weiss, they mostly came from Ruby and that usually involved scenario after scenario. She was just thankful they didn't press as much.

Wishing not to dwell more, she quickly shook her head to clear her mind and force herself back to the present. They were given the day off today to relax and that is exactly what she intended to do. There was a spot out in the forest that had her name on it and a book that had not yet been read and she fully intended on getting at least a few chapters in today. She took a quick glance at the clock, seeing the red numbers read 8:48 AM. Deciding that going back to sleep wasn't a good idea and seeing she was up already, she might as well take a hot shower before Ruby got up and brought out that blasted whistle. Being as silent as she could as not to disturb her teammates, she quickly grabbed a change of clothes, her shower caddy, towel and headed off to the bathroom attached to the room.

Contrary to popular opinion, cat faunus do not hate the water, certainly not this cat faunus. Her time with the White Fang and its, previous, limited resources, she had grown to appreciate the pleasures of a hot shower. So when she turned the water on and felt the hot water pour down, the smile returned to her face as she stripped down to her bare skin and stepped into the water. A relieved sigh flowed from her lips as she felt the hot water flow into her body, letting herself turn her back and letting the water flow onto her hair, letting her fingers run through the dirty mess. She had to be careful around her ears as water in them was very unpleasant. However, in the middle of cleaning her ears, she felt the burn on her left hand only for a second before a very familiar pain erupted in her eyes. She let out a cry of pain as she collapsed to the ground, her hands holding onto the sides of the tub. She remembered this pain as it was the same exact pain that she felt when her vision tried to change and just like before, she heard a whisper echo in her mind, only this time, it came in clearer.

'_**I smell blood in the dirt, blood on the stone bricks. Men and faunus alike have died building this sanctuary."**_

Her eyes snapped opened and true enough, the apparently named 'Void Gaze' was back and this time, it was like she could see more detail then before but as her vision settled, the pain went away. Eventually the pain fully subsided and Blake found herself staring in amazement at her new vision. She saw it all, the people, the animals, even different kind of circuitry that ran all throughout the building. She could even tell what they were for!

'_**For all the fame and glory Beacon has, there lies a dark history of all the souls that passed to defend this school from the Grimm.'**_

That voice…despite the roar of the water, she could hear it clearly and concisely within her mind. It was whispering to her, whispering secrets to her. She grabbed at her ears but the voice would not go away and to make it even worse, she _knew_ the voice was telling the truth. She screwed her eyes shut as she tried to focus on the knowledge that came with it, searching for information about the voice. She found the knowledge and let it flow into her. The voice was part of the Void Gaze, its purpose to tell secrets, good and bad. No matter what secrets someone had, it would find them.

Blake's eyes slowly opened in realization, still feeling the water run over her. She could control the voice, or rather, control when it spoke but she did not know the trigger for it. She knew it was possible to control when it spoke, but not _how_ to make it speak. The distressed faunus closed her eyes again and refocused her efforts, this time she was now composed, this time, she felt the flow of power powering the gaze. In her mind, she grabbed ahold of that power and cut the connection to her eyes. Thankfully, she felt it respond

Her eyes stared at the floor of the bathtub before she finally regained her senses. She quickly turned off the still hot water and just sat there for a few minutes, digesting this new information. She knew there was a time limit she could hold the Gaze before it shut itself off but what it would see…people, animals, hell even circuitry and the purpose of them and yet…she had to wonder, why did the Outsider give her this ability? She could figure out what this could be used for and while a great ability, there was a thought that ran in the back of her mind, thoughts of using the Voice for blackmail. If she learned how to harness this ability, she could find out anything she wanted about anything and use that to her advantage.

Nobody would ever take advantage of her again.

She shook her head to clear out those thoughts. She would not go down that path, she would never stoop to the level the White Fang had stooped themselves. Blake's feline ears perked up at a familiar sound. Her golden eyes moved to the mark on her hand before she smirked. She knew that sound and what was going to come next. Letting the power flow through her, she closed her eyes and reopened them, the Gaze active. Her eyes caught sight of Ruby awake and off her bed, yawning and stretching, giving herself a few stretches. Once done, she reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a familiar but hated object.

Her memory went back to the previous night before they went to bed. Ruby had declared that they were going to get up the next morning and take a proper relaxation day. Weiss, she had quickly learned, was not a morning person and scoffed at the idea of an early wake up but she had forgotten one very important fact.

And that was Ruby was a sadist.

In one swift motion, Ruby brought the object to her lips and blew into it, producing a very high shrill that pierced even the bathroom walls. In that instant, both Yang and Weiss almost leapt from their beds at the sound. She saw Ruby quickly move away from Weiss's reach just as the sound of loud cursing was heard. Decided she'd seen enough, she stopped the flow and returned her vision to normal before turning the hot water back on.

OoOoOoO

"So why are you two so grumpy this morning?"

Blake couldn't help but grin at the state of her two teammates and the insanely happy grin plastered on Ruby's face. She was well aware of the reason for their discomfort but she loved to tease her teammates. The faunus got out of Weiss's way as she stormed to the now free bathroom, the grin still on her face even as she towel dried her hair. However, as Weiss passed her, the voice spoke up again.

'_**The Dust Knight was acting on orders that day.'**_ Blake stopped in her tracks, turning around to face the heiress with wide golden eyes. _**'The anger of the mother surged through the Knight, fueling it.'**_ Blake's eyes went to the scar on the confused heiress face as she gasped in shock. _**'She never forgave her mother for giving her that scar.'**_

Blake muffled her gasp with her mouth, stumbling back in shock even as the door to the bathroom shut behind her, the white haired girl not know what had just transpired. She tripped over the carpet but was caught by Ruby in a flash of roses. She felt herself being led to the bed and sat down, Ruby's concerned silver eyes staring into her own. _**'She cut herself for a time after her mother died, believing that the pain would flow out of her**_._**'**_

"No no no no no, shut UP! SHUT UP!" Blake tried to shut out the sound by covering her ears, curling up in a ball. "Please…no more, no more…"

"Blake…Blake! What's wrong?!"

"Leave me alone…please…"

Yang was scared for her teammate who suddenly collapsed into tears for no reason and now she was curled up into a ball. She didn't know what was torturing Blake but damn it to hell she was going to leave her alone. She climbed onto the bed and gathered Blake up into her arms, despite her protests. She held onto Blake as she struggled, letting her aura expand out and flow into her to hopefully calm her down, just like it calmed Ruby down after a night of nightmares. "It's alright Blake, it's alright, I'm here for you."

"I…I can't shut it up Yang…the voices won't stop."

"It's alright Blakey, don't listen to them. Whatever they are saying are just lies."

"No…they're not." Yang stared down at her trembling teammate at those words, her lilac eyes staring into Blake's terrified ones. "I know they speak the truth."

"What truth?"

"I…she…" If anything, the girl curled up tighter against Yang. "I can't say."

"Blake…" Said faunus looked up at the sound, opening her eyes to gaze upon the worried face of her team leader before she screwed her eyes shut again. "Is it that voice again?" She waited until she saw the girl nod, still keeping her eyes shut. "What is it telling you?"

"It tells me things." Blake finally spoke after some time. "The girl seemed to have stopped trembling now and was now trying to sit up. Yang let her go so she could get off of her lap and sit upright on her bed. While she was not trembling anymore, Yang could see the horror in her eyes from the secrets she was told. "Secrets about things, people. I…I can't control what it tells me." Blake kept her eyes on Ruby, her eyes wide with shock, her mind reeling from the secrets she was told.

Yang wasn't the only one who noticed her gaze.

"Judging by the way you're looking at our fearless leader…" Weiss spoke out, a towel wrapped around her damp form, as she stood in the doorway of the steamy bathroom. "I'm guessing this voice told you something about Ruby?"

"Well surely it can't be THAT bad can it?" Interjected Ruby. "What did it te…"

"DON"T…" The faunus interrupted the naïve girl. "Please Ruby, don't ask me what it told me. Because if you do, then I will tell you and you will hate me."

"Blake." Ruby reached forward and took one of the trembling girl's hands in her own, putting a brave face on. "I trust you and not only that, we're teammates. You trusted us with the knowledge of you being a faunus and a former member of the Fang so trust us."

Blake had to admire her leader's intentions but yet, as she gazed upon her leader's innocent eyes, she knew she had to tell her. She had to have faith that even after this, they would continue to support her as they always done. Her other hand, not currently being squeezed by Ruby, sought out Yang's who gladly took it into her own. "It…it told me that you used to cut yourself…" She felt both Ruby's and Yang's grip tighten considerably. "After your mother's death."

In that moment, everything went silent.

After a while though, after several moments of very uncomfortable silence, the silence was broken by Yang. "That…that's impossible. Yes we were upset but Ruby never cut, I would've seen the scars. That voice has to be wrong, right Ruby? Rubes?" At Ruby's silence, all the members looked at their leader who, by that time had released Blake's hand, and had her head hanging down. "Ruby…" Yang spoke again, her voice cracking at the realization that Ruby was not denying her claims. "Ruby?"

Blake, with her sensitive hearing, was able to hear Ruby's soft sounds but when she realized they were sobs, her ears flattened against her head and she let out a whine, but when the sobs came into the range of normal human hearing, she deeply regretted saying anything. Even Weiss, who had walked up to the bed, was silent as she gazed upon her partner.

"I…I couldn't handle it sometimes." Ruby finally spoke, lifting her gaze to face her team, but facing her shocked and horrified sister. "I missed her so much and I couldn't take it and I though that…that." The girl sniffed and rubbed her eyes, even as Weiss tried to console her partner, but to Blake's surprise, she wasn't too broken up about it for some reason. "It wasn't until dad took me and Yang in that I stopped."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Yang's voice was cracked and Blake could hear so much hurt in it.

"I…I was afraid of how you would react."

"Are…are you still cutting?"

Now Ruby smiled and Blake was honestly so glad to see that smile again. "No, not anymore. I moved on. I still miss her, I really do but now, at least, I can handle it."

The smile remained on Ruby's face and Blake couldn't help but smile herself. That turned out better then she thought. Granted, she still carried the secret of how Weiss got that scar but now, at least, she was still accepted. She smiled at Ruby and extended her arms, a silent invitation. Ruby, being the sucker for hugs, immediately accepted the invitation and shot forward, snuggling into Blake's bosom even as Yang joined in, the hug being as tight as ever. She had no idea the sister's past was as harsh as that but it seemed to improve after Ruby's father took her in. However, just as that thought entered her mind, the voice spoke again. _**'Ruby owes her father her life for taking her and her sister off of the street and out of the cardboard box he found them in.'**_ She held in the gasp and held Ruby tighter against her chest. If she was going to be stuck with this voice, she had to learn how to control it, or at the very least, keep herself in control upon learning someone's deepest darkest secrets.

OoOoOoO

"Are…you guys alright?"

Jaune couldn't help but ask as he saw the state his friends were in while at the breakfast table. Ruby had a shocked and shaken look in her eyes and her hands were trembling. Blake had a distant look in hers, like she heard something shocking and hasn't quite gotten over it. Weiss looked conflicted on everything which was a strange sight in of itself but Yang's, instead of the confidant and domineering look in her eyes, now Jaune could see like her entire world was flipped upside down and she didn't know how to handle it.

And they were all horrible at hiding it.

"Uh yeah…everything's perfect…" Came Ruby's forced answer. "Right Weiss…Weiss?"

"Huh…oh yeah, perfect."

"See?"

"Ruby…may I talk to you for a minute…alone?" Not giving Ruby a chance to refuse, he stood up from the table and started walking away, looking behind him to ensure Ruby was following, which she was, and lead the depressed girl to a private corner. "Ruby," He spoke once they were semi-alone, trying to be as supportive as she was when he was down. "I may not be that bright when it comes to women but even I can see something is bothering all of you." Ruby remained silent, her face hidden under the hood of the cloak. "Ruby, you helped me when I was at my lowest point. Let me help you."

"Jaune…" Ruby looked up and while there was a smile on her face, he could see a troubled look in her eyes. "While I really do appreciate your concern, what's going on with us needs to stay with us. It may take some time but we'll sort it out. Just…let us sort it out."

Juane sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Alright Ruby, if you say so. Just don't get yourself killed out there because of this alright? If you need to talk, if any of you need to talk, we can listen, even Nora surprisingly."

"We'll be alright but thanks for your concern." The smile returned to Ruby's face and for a moment, he saw a hint of the old Ruby before the depressed look came back.

Seeing that Ruby was finished with the conversation, he nodded and started to head back to the table, the red cloaked girl following beside him. He was really concerned about what was going on with RWBY as he had never, even on their bad days, seem them that depressed and broken. Even Weiss, who prided herself on keeping up a face of grace and strength, now looked so broken. So what had happened between when they had came back so happy to now?

As he approached the table, Ruby broke off and headed to her side. As he neared his side, he caught Blake's eyes as he moved to sit down. They only matched for a minute before she broke it off but then she did a double take, her golden eyes returning to his but widened like in shock. Jaune returned her gaze with a questioning one of his own but received no answer but what he did notice out of the corner of his eyes was that mark on her left hand glowing slightly. He watched as her face went through a flurry of emotions. First was shock, then was confusion, then shock again, and finally ended with a heavy blush that she tried to hide behind a book…which was turned upside down.

He heard a snigger come from beside him and he didn't need to turn around to know it came from Nora. He was about to ask what was going on when Yang suddenly stood up, grabbed Blake and ran off. He looked over to the other members but Ruby was already gone, the flurry of roses floating down from her last position leaving only Weiss there. The girl only sighed and began to gather up a plate of food before heading off with nary a word to anybody. The blonde knight looked to his right to lock eyes with Pyrrha who shrugged in response to his unspoken words but he could see she was concerned for her friends like he was.

OoOoOoO

The blush remained on Blake's face even as Yang mercilessly led her out of the cafeteria and into a conveniently deserted hallway while she tried to fight down the blush that was burning her face. She screwed her eyes shut as she willed herself to calm down, even as she smelled Yang stop in front of her and speak. "I'm…I'm alright, just…I was just unprepared."

"Must have been something if it got you blushing…"

"I really _really_ hate this voice."

"What was it this time?"

"Please don't make me say it Yang. It's embarrassing enough."

"Aww come on! You were staring at Juane, I wanna know!"

Blake sighed as her body cooled down. She knew if she told her partner, the ammo she would be giving her but then again… "It was how Juane was conceived on a snowy night."

There was a moments silence before Yang burst out laughing, collapsing on the floor. Blake couldn't help but follow suit, letting out her frustrations, her worries out in her mirth. It was nice to know that the voice didn't tell only bad secrets. It told ALL, the good, the bad, and apparently the extremely embarrassing, and with that thought, she knew she would be able to pull through.

OoOoOoO

_4 months later_

Metal striking metal sounded out as blades clashed against each other. Weiss stood her ground against her opponent, Myrtenaster stood at the ready as her eyes sought out the next place her assailant would appear from. Her assailant had already gotten a few strikes in but she would be damned if she would give her another hit. Movement out of the corner of her eyes caught her attention and she adjusted her stance to block the incoming projectile. However, as the knife clattered to the ground, she realized too late that it was a distraction and she cried out as something slammed on her side, sending her flying across the practice grounds, skidding to a stop near the edge. She wasn't given a chance to recover as a figure materialized literally above her and crashed down as gravity took ahold, the glint of metal shining in the light as the blade slammed down.

There was a moment's pause after the blade imbedded itself into the ground, Weiss holding her breath until she finally let it out. Her eyes moved to the side to see the familiar katana imbedded into the ground, frowning as she realized that she lost…again. A chuckle was heard and Weiss moved up eyes up, her gaze seeing the smirking form of her teammate coming into the light.

"You're learning Weiss. Couple months ago, you wouldn't have gotten halfway turned before I struck."

Said heiress frowned.

"Aww, why the pout?"

"Ruby is rubbing off of you too much." The figure lowered herself down into the light to reveal the smirking face of Blake Belladonna. Weiss kept the frown on her face for a moment before her lips curved upwards in a smile. Blake chuckled at the change and stood up, helping her teammate up to her feet as well. "You've definitely gotten better with Blink haven't you?"

The cat faunus shrugged as she retrieved her weapon. "I'm just glad I managed to get the Voice under control. I couldn't look Professor Port in the eye for the longest time."

"Yang used to tease you for the longest time about that."

"Don't remind me. You want to hit the showers here?"

"Nah, I'd rather head back. Need to make sure the dolt in studying like she's supposed to."

Blake smirked at the tone in her friend's voice. "Don't trust her?"

The heiress shrugged as she gathered up her bag, wincing at the pain in her side from the kick Blake delivered to her earlier. "When you have to wake her up and stop from drooling all over her notes, you tend to pay more attention."

She smiled and followed Weiss out of the training arena and back on the path toward their doors. It was a quiet trip and it afforded Blake some time to think, think about the past few months. Her relationship with her team has improved steadily since that faithful night. No longer did she hide her cat ears behind the silky fabric of her bow, but rather displayed them proudly.

She did find Velvet's expression funny when she realized that Blake was a faunus though, finding her expression of a goldfish spot on.

But what she was most proud of in these last few months was when she finally gained control over the Voice. While she still used the voice, she heard enough secrets as she was able to keep herself composed while hearing them. She found herself using the voice a lot more then she expected however as there was a certain thrill in knowing something about someone that they took great care to hide. However, it was different with her team. There was a strange sort of intimacy between the four of them. She knew that they knew that if she really tried, she could find out anything and everything she wanted about them but they, even Weiss, trusted her.

They trusted her to keep their secrets.

It felt…strange, having that kind of trust placed on her.

Her fingers pulled off the fingerless gloves that Yang had given her, the black leather material slid off her hand and she found herself staring at the Outsider's mark. He had not spoken to her since that day she came back but she knew she still had his attention. If he was indeed omnipotent, then he knew what events where going to happen and would be watching. Her eyes went back to the glove in her hand, her memory taking her back to the time when Yang had officially asked her to be her girlfriend. It only took a couple months of skirting around the issue but when Yang finally had the courage to ask, she accepted the offer.

"Blake?" Said faunus perked up when she heard her friend call out to her. She quickly redonned the glove and looked to her side to see Weiss look at her in concern. "You alright? You spaced out for a minute there."

'_**She's terrified of going home alone.'**_ Blake blinked at the sudden appearance of the voice and frowned at herself. While she had control over it, she did not have perfect control and sometimes it slips. _**'She never knows what she is going home to, or whether it will still be a home and not just a house with strangers in it.'**_

"Yeah, I'm alright." Blake finally answered, trying to ignore that look in Weiss's eye, the one that knew that Blake was hearing the voice. "Just had a long day today."

"Indeed." There was that look again. "Well, we're here." Blake blinked again, her eyes focusing on Team RWBY's door. She blinked again, this time in surprise as she realized she really must have been out of it.

Blake watched Weiss as she pulled out her scroll, her eyes moving back to the door. She blinked and when she opened her eyes, the sight of the Void Gaze replaced her normal vision and as soon as she focused, her hand shot out and stopped Weiss from opening the door. Weiss looked like she was going to retort but stopped short when she realized that Blake's gaze was focused on the door, but rather _inside_ the door. "What do you see?"

It only took her a second to recognize the handiwork.

"It's another one of Ruby's traps." She smirked when Weiss face palmed. Ever since she had told Ruby about how she could see machines and mechanisms, the girl had picked up the habit of making intricate and complicated traps for Blake to see and possibly disarm or get caught and because of this, Blake had started to giving entrances a quick glance with the Gaze. "Looks like this trap is triggered by separation of the contact plates…" Blake spoke, giving the curious Weiss a play by play. "Yang is in the room taking a nap in her bed but the circuit is leading to her bed connected to a…speaker?"

Weiss was equally confused as to the layout of the trap and the fact that it doesn't seem to be aimed for them. "That seems rather tame compared to the dolt's usual traps."

"Indeed but I have to wonder what's set to play if I trigger it?" It was then she started to look over the circuitry again and as she looked over the main control box, it was then she realized something very important. "It's a decoy." Now that caught Weiss's attention. "There's a burst transmitter attached to the trigger."

"Can you see what it's linked to?"

"No, they stay powered off until triggered but the receiver…" She looked around, trying to determine where the signal would go once it was triggered.

"Anything?"

"No, I don't…wait…" Her attention was caught to a nearby vent. There was an object in there, a small object but small enough to be skipped over unless you were looking for it. "Boost me up?" She asked of Weiss as they approached the vent. Weiss quickly hoisted the faunus up, letting the girl sit on her shoulders. Blake quickly took the vent off and her eyes caught the sight of a small glass vial filled with a liquid. Remembering her microelectronics class, she knew that the small receiver attached to the vial most likely contained some kind of mechanism to break the glass and release the liquid within. Knowing Ruby, it was probably a liquid that produced a vile smell.

With quick nimble fingers, she quickly disarmed and disconnected the power supply. With a chuckle on her lips, she looked further in the vent, her eyes catching the sight of a small spy camera nestled in a corner. "Nice trick with the decoys Ruby." Reaching forward, she grabbed the camera and turned it off, getting off of Weiss before holding up her spoils.

"You know what that is?"

"Not sure but considering how it's sealed airtight, it's probably something foul smelling."

Even as Weiss scoffed, Blake had to wonder what kind of liquid was in here and what smell it produced. If she understood the end results, the glass would break and her sense of smell would pick this up and she would suffer the effects of said smell leaving her worthless for a time. She tucked the glass into her bag, just as Weiss turned the knob and pushed.

That was a mistake.

As soon as the door cleared the frame, her sensitive ears immediately picked up the sound of a woman screaming in fright. Because the door was open, Blake could see Yang literally jump out of bed, crash to the floor and assume a defensive posture. She groaned, mostly at herself for assuming that the first and obvious, to her at least, trap was a decoy. She had to admit, if she didn't know just how much of a closet sadist Ruby was, she would've been shocked at the fact that she did it to her own sister in the first place.

OoOoOoO

As Blake walked alongside her teammates, she couldn't help but glance at her blonde partner. Despite how she reacted upon being woken up, Yang didn't seem to be angry at her sister and honestly, she wasn't THAT surprised by it. She knew that there was a much deeper relationship between her and Ruby and a bond that could only be created at times of desperation, times like living out in the street and in a cardboard box before being taken in by Ruby's father.

Her eyes narrowed at that.

Whether the Voice was doing it on purpose or not, it was being vague on the details regarding their family. She knew there was an 'Uncle Crow' but every time she asked about her father, Ruby and even Yang, would give an answer that wasn't an answer at the same time and that made her think. If the sisters would not openly admit _who_ their father was, she had to wonder who the man was and why they were keeping it secret, even from Blake who could just about find out anything.

But…

Blake let out a soft sigh as she let herself relax. They knew she could find out at any moment and yet they still trusted her. If the man was as bad as she was thinking, she had to give them the benefit of the doubt. If and when she ever met their father, she had to remember that he took them off the streets and cared for them and for that, she was grateful. Suddenly, she perked up when she felt the girl beside her enclose her hand with her own, feeling the wave of Yang's aura wash over her, calming her down. She really liked Yang's aura. It was so warm and it enveloped her completely.

"You alright there kitten?"

"Yeah, just thinking about things."

"The voice again?"

"Heh, not this time."

"Oh?"

Blake squeezed the brawler's hand. "It's nothing Yang, don't worry about it."

"Besides, whatever that dolt called us for better be worth it. I was looking forward to my nap."

Indeed, shortly after Blake had arrived back at the dorm, all three of them had received a message from Ruby telling them to meet her in the cafeteria. It didn't take them long to reach the cafeteria though but when they reached the café doors and walked in, their eyes immediately went to the girl in the red cloak amongst the sea of white tables as the girl munched on some cookies. Yang, still a little ticked off, immediately stomped up to the girl, who remained in her cookie stupor, and gave her a not so gentle love tap upside the head. "That!...was for that little surprise under my damn bed!"

"Got you up didn't it?

"Come on Rubes, you know I like my sleep."

Ruby, the leader that she is, merely grinned and held out a cup. The sister gingerly took it and gave it an experimental whiff before a grin crept onto her face. "Alright you're forgiven."

Blake only had to sniff once to tell what was in that cup. "Blue cow?"

"Yep! Sis loves her energy drinks."

"How anyone can drink that disgusting slop is beyond me."

"Aww, come on Weiss. You haven't even tried it."

Weiss glared at her team leader/partner but frowned when the glare didn't have any affect. She sat down besides Blake even as Yang took a spot besides her sister. Blake took a glance at her white haired teammate with a soft smile on her features before turning back to Ruby who resumed snacking on her cookies. "So Ruby, now that we're here, what's so important?"

"Mmm…?" Blake couldn't help but chuckle at just how adorable she looked just then. "Oh, Professor Ozpin wants to see us."

There was a moment of silence as all of Team RWBY processed that information, along with the fact that Ruby was here…eating a plate full of cookies when the headmaster wanted to see them. It was Weiss who broke the silence, however, by clearing her throat and speaking in a barely restrained, strained voice. "Ruby…"

"Hmm?"

"If the headmaster wants to see us, then why are you here eating _cookies_?"

"Because it's not time yet…see?" The redheaded girl quickly opened her scroll and turned it out, the message reading…

_-Ruby, please gather your team and meet me in my office in 30 minutes. –Ozpin_

That was ten minutes ago according to the time stamp so they had some time before they had to head off. As each member realized that they weren't getting screwed over, they each began to relax a bit. Blake and Weiss went off to gather some food to snack on while Yang decided to punish her dear sister for that prank.

OoOoOoO

As the appointed time drew closer, Ruby gathered up her team and set on the path toward the headmaster's office, but as they drew closer, each member wondered why exactly they were headed there. Some thought it had to do with Ruby's prank but Blake knew that if it was because of that, it would've been Goodwitch that called them, not Ozpin.

As Blake and co. approached the doors, she let the power surge to her eyes to activate the Gaze. The first thing she caught sight of was the security attached to the door and all around the room. She was actually impressed at what laid hidden and even caught sight of countermeasures littered throughout. However, the two figures in the room caught her attention. "Goodwitch is in there." She informed, her sensitive ears catching the 'fuck' from Ruby before turning to Blake. "As well as Ozpin."

"Is that good?"

She narrowed her eyes at the headmaster as she let the gaze focus on him. One thing she learned about the Voice is that if she focused on the individual whose secrets she was trying to gleam, it helped to find exactly what was she looking for. _**'The headmaster is well aware that Juane lied to get into the school. He knows that the transcripts are fake.'**_ Blake blinked in surprise. She had already known that Juane had lied his way into Beacon when she had used the voice on him, but didn't know that the Headmaster also knew. She was honestly surprised at that but then again, he wasn't the headmaster for nothing. She refocused her attention on the man and triggered the Voice again. _**'He knows who Ruby's true family is but accepted them into the school anyway, believing in their intentions to become huntresses, in honor of Summer Rose, Ruby's mother.'**_

Blake gasped in shock as the connection shut itself off. A name! She has a name now! With this, she could finally solve, or at least gain some headway, as to the mystery of Ruby and Yang's family. However, in her excitement at finally getting a name, she forgot where she was and was reminded by a sudden and pleasant jolt in her feline ears. A moan left her lips before she could stop it but once she realized what just happened, she clamped her mouth shut and turned around to face a certain smirking blonde who still had her hands up. "You're slipping Blakey…"

"S-shut up, I was distracted is all."

"Oh so that wasn't a moan that came out of your mouth?"

"Damn it Yang, you know I don't like being surprised."

If anything that grin went wider on the blonde's face. "I can think of a few things that you like…"

"Yaaang!" Thankfully the conversation was cut short by the blushing Ruby. "Keep your bedroom talk in the bedroom!"

Blake couldn't help but smile as the girl tried to cover herself with the hood of her cloak. While her and Yang shared many interests, one of which was teasing the girl with their 'lovely dovey antics' as the younger sister called it. She turned back to her blonde girlfriend and whispered 'thank you' before giving her a peck on the lips.

She then turned around, half expecting to see Ruby buried in her cloak but actually found Ruby listening intently to whatever Weiss was whispering to her. Before she could hear what they were saying, Weiss broke off and whatever was said caused Ruby to have a big grin plastered to her face. She then spun on her heels and walked toward the door, her partner following. She quirked an eyebrow at her own partner who merely shrugged in response before following her sister to the Headmaster's door.

As Ruby opened the door, Blake was not surprised to find both Ozpin and Glynda at the opposite side of the room. The door shut behind them as the group approached the large desk, ending up standing side by side in front of the silver haired man. "So…" He began once all four have settled. "I'm assuming you are all wondering why I have called you all here."

"This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with Ruby's praaaa…"

The headmaster raised his eyebrow at the sight of Ruby muffling the heiress's mouth with her hand when the girl herself started chuckling. "Eh hehehe, don't mind her Professor, please do go on."

He regarded them for a moment before addressing them again. "I have called you here to offer you a rare opportunity, an opportunity that, if it goes well, will open a lot of doors for you." He kept his calm demeanor present even as the girls in front of him perked up, especially Ruby.

"What is it sir?"

Now he allowed a smirk to grace his face. "A mission."

* * *

So another chapter down. A big thanks to my beta Sixteen Vanilla Beans with this. She helped me with the angst and it turned out well.

I do have a request. Please let me know how you feel the pacing is with this. I do not plan for this to be a LONG story but I don't want it to be too short considering what I have planned. Also, if you like, please leave a comment and comment how you liked this chapter.


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